Short Course: The Art of Speech-Making (Adults 16+)

Discover the art of speech-making with award-winning actor and speaker Stephen Papps. You’ll cover everything from sourcing inspiration and learning exercises for posture, body language and vocal clarity to the psychology of confident speaking…

Stephen will show you how to get your mind into a creative state. You’ll do various exercises to inspire interesting ideas, “then you will dig even deeper to get to the heart of your … well, heart, until you uncover the subject that resounds with you.”

Once you’ve landed on the idea that inspires you the most, you will shape your speech into a 7 minute format. Your speech will be structured with the building blocks for story-telling and how to test the resilience of the idea.

You will then learn your speech with the help of some memory exercises. You’ll discover how to get into a performance state, which involves using physiology to get you into a relaxed and confident state.

You’ll learn exercises for posture, body language and vocal clarity. Stephen will also explore the psychology of speech-making. You’ll build confidence and learn how you talk to yourself; “we are all our own inner coaches – we can’t escape it, so it’s important how we deal with mistakes, failure and success; the right attitude can have you feeling relaxed and alert.”

Students will perform their speeches and get feedback, with work-ons.

There will also be plenty of homework, for students to get a feel for working in a solo environment.

There will be a maximum of 10 students in the class.